A comparative study will be made of cell differentiation in procaryotes with particlar emphasis on the role of the cell membrane. Efforts will be made to correlate changes in membrane composition occurring upon encystment of Azotobacter vinelandii or sporulation of Bacillus species with biochemical or biophysical events of morphogenesis. The size and properties of the "nucleus" of A. vinelandii will be ascertained by DNA renaturation studies and by isolation and physical characterization of the folded chromosome. The conditions controlling transformation in this organism will be determined and efforts will be made to map genetically the nitrogenase, the most abundant mutant available. Physiological and biochemical analyses will be made of germinating cysts to determine their pathways of carbohydrate metabolism, the identity of the products of early protein synthesis and the identity and turnover of storage materials.